The Michigan State football team is the latest college football program to find itself in a large amount of hot water, due to some sexual assault allegations. ESPN is reporting the school has suspended three players while the investigation is going on.
While it's certainly possible that the allegations could indeed be false, what makes this story even more eyebrow-raising is that a member of the Spartans' coaching staff has also been suspended. That suspension is apparently stemming from the way he reacted to the allegations.
Bad moon rising
While we certainly have a rule that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, it certainly appears Michigan State believes there might be both smoke and fire.
The school issued a statement on Thursday afternoon, saying the players had been "barred from team activities and removed from on-campus housing pending the outcome of an investigation."
Some Nebraska football fans might remember a while back when a couple of Husker players were implicated in a possible sexual assault that happened at the home of Tommy Armstrong and Jordan Westerkamp. What stands out the most in these two situations is that the Huskers' players were interviewed but largely left alone as the investigation went on, and later went away.
Names are pending
So far, no one knows exactly which Michigan State football players or which staff member have been implicated in the sexual assault case.
So far, charges have not been filed, but it appears someone, somewhere along the way did something the school feels was at the very least not helpful to the situation.
College football fans, in general, will likely remember the case of Art Briles and Baylor who seems to have handled that school's legal problems about as poorly as any we've seen in NCAA history.
Not only did Briles and Baylor handle that incredibly poorly, but it appears other schools are using that as a teachable moment in how to react differently when situations such as this sexual assault allegation come along.
